Alli Rogers and Rick Pitino

These two have stirred my mind and my soul to the point where I decided to end the 1.5 year drought and post another blog.

If you don't know who Alli Rogers is, go here:

allirogers.com


Rick Pitino is a former basketball coach who "wrote" a organizational/motivational book on CD that I have been listening to on the way to work and back. It's called, "Success Is A Choice".

Trying to decide what's important to me, and I what I want to do in this field called life. I am grateful for the opportunity to live and create, and plan, and work. But, I'm learning that I don't want to waste my days anymore, and so I need to have a plan and stick to it in order to enjoy this life and the gifts of being awake to God and His glory.

More soon....

God, the Spirit

So I'm really into Wicca these days. The other day I was talking to my tree spirit in the back yard and....ok, just kidding. Just seeing if you are paying attention.

In all seriousness, I am really enjoying the act of crying out to God and expecting Him to draw near to me and change my thoughts from selfish and unbelieving to thoughts that are slow to anger and anxious for His will to be done. I find myself much more eager to pray and seek His face than I have in quite some time. I am eager to sense the peace that comes from His presence....which I feel is near me when my spirit feels completely open to Him. I think I have defined my relationship to God very narrowly and in somewhat sterile terms.....and it has left me feeling very stale.

God has made me to know Him and weep, to know Him and shout, to know Him and sit still, to know Him and love, to know Him and fight, to know Him and die, and to know Him and live!

I am enjoying the mystery of the infinite Yawheh drawing near to me. Think about that for a minute. The God of the Universe concerned about the thoughts and peace of this vapor of a man?! So much so that He would take on flesh and die for me and millions of others. Are we crazy?! The God who FILLS THE UNIVERSE WITH HIS SPIRIT became a baby, wrapped in a manger, born to a virgin, under a mysterious star.

Who is this God, our Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit? Seek Him with all your heart and you will find Him!

Merry Christmas!

Evidences of God working in my life

Yesterday morning I was recalling a conversation that I had with a friend the day before. He was talking to me about a girl he has begun dating - that as of late his thoughts had been consumed with her. He felt conflicted about it and I joked with him saying, “That scripture in the Bible that says it is good for a man to remain single so that he can be solely devoted to God is true,"... but then I felt like that was discouraging to him so I half-heartedly said, “…but both are good….being single has it’s blessings and so does being married.” Too late though, my heart had been exposed, even if just to me.

Do you see the hidden belief?

Play the scene backwards and it is clear that I, on some level, was believing that my family was to blame for my lack of affection for and pursuit of the things of God.

The thought came back to me as I got out of bed this morning and it really bothered me:

“Wait a minute. Surely it does NOT have to be that way?"

God is the creator of the family, it is a GOOD thing.

Is the reason we are distracted from the things of God because we make an idol out of the family and the way it should look? Why aren’t we reaching out as a family and allowing the kids to come along in that work? Sure, there is the very large distraction of provision for the familly, but why am I not raising them to value the economy of heaven, rather than consuming myself with what they have and do not have here on Earth…where moth and rust destroy?

If my children are to value the missionary heart and love of God, they must experience the joy of it, the pain of it.

They must EXPERIENCE these things.

As Amy came into the room where I was sitting, she began to get excited as I told her about my thoughts - she was having the very same thoughts! After talking briefly about them it was obvious to both of us that something outside of us was working in our midst - she said to me something that is very true:

“There is one Spirit.”

How encouraging to sense Him stirring me. My God has not given up on me!

Help Me Want You

I often grow really weary of my weak affections for the things of God. I am far too easily pleased with my slum pies. This song is my cry to my Father to help me continue to move toward Him in love, obedience, and trust:

Help me want You
Help me want You instead, instead of my sin
Help me seek You
Help me seek You instead, instead of my sin

For the pleasure of the moment I have sacrificed Your peace
And though sin tastes like honey - it leaves me empty
But You don't leave me empty.

Help me love You
Help me love You instead, instead of my sin
Help me obey You
Help me obey You instead, instead of my sin

For the pleasure of the moment I have sacrificed Your peace
And though sin tastes like honey - it leaves me empty
For the pleasure of the moment I have sacrificed Your peace
And though sin tastes like honey - it leaves me empty
But You don't leave me empty. You don't leave me.

Help me love You
Help me love You instead, instead of my sin
Help me trust You
Help me trust You instead, instead of my sin

For the pleasure of the moment I have sacrificed Your peace
And though sin tastes like honey - it leaves me empty
For the pleasure of the moment I have sacrificed Your peace
And though sin tastes like honey it leaves me empty
But You don't leave me empty. You don't leave me.

All Things New

Those of you who have downloaded "On Christ The Solid Rock", I hope you will also download and enjoy "All Things New". I wrote it in response to a scene (see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY31lmmRLFo) from the movie "The Passion of The Christ". After Jesus falls violently to the ground Mary runs over to him in obvious grief. Jesus rises to his knees and through a bloodied and battered face manages the words, "See, Mother, I make all things new." It moved me to tears in the movie - that for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross to make me new. It must bring Him great joy to make sinners new, to redeem orphaned sinners to their Heavenly Father! Here are the words if you want to sing along:

(Verse 1)
Leaving Your Father's throne
Veiled in human flesh
Into a cattle stall You were born
What injustice is this?

(Bridge)
Suffering Savior-King
The Broken Bread of Life
The Father's wrath for sinners on Your back
The Father's glory on Your mind

(Chorus 1)
All things new!
Living flesh
God indwelled the curse to purchase our forgiveness
All things new!
Made alive
And a man who could not see now lifts his gaze to the sky and sees
All Things New


(Verse 2)
Carrying our cross
The very wood Your Word had made
And by the very same power You could have said, "Enough!"
But the Father's Glory You would not trade

(Chorus 2)
All things new!
Living flesh
God indwelled the curse to purchase our forgiveness
All things new!
Made alive
And a man who could not love now joyfully lays down his life
All things new

(Bridge 2)
I am bound to the Father
by the merit of the Son
Awarded war chests of treasure
For the victory He has won
And I long for the day when my body and soul both know
Know that He makes.....

Chorus 2 repeat

Quick update to my fan (singular - you rock, Tracey)

Just wanted to send a quick shout out to all my fan (I'm on the map in Greenville, TX, baby!) that I will be updating my available songs for download within the next 1-10 months. No seriously - Tracey I will try to have "All Things New" up soon, and I will try to regularly update the song list in the near future. Hope all is well in Greenville. Tell everyone down at the Pizza Hut we said hello.

Oswald NOT guilty

Ok, so it was only a middle school mock trial but the production was a remarkable collaboration of students, teachers, one ambitious local attorney, school and district adminstrators and neighbors. A jury of 8th grade students deliberated for only a few minutes before deciding that the state prosecutors (also students) did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Lee Harvey Oswald pulled the trigger in the assassination of President JFK. HIghlights of the trial included testimony of Governor Connaly, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Jack Ruby, and the reading of the verdict.


Of course, no trial ever occurred thanks to Jack Ruby, but Waco attorney Lori Palladino wrote scripts for the judge, witnesses, and prosecutors in what turned out to be another great example of Carver's integrated curriculum and Partners in Education taking students to new levels of thinking.

Keep an eye on www.wacotrib.com for an article about the mock trial and WISD channel in your local cable provider. I also highly recommend the 6th Floor Museum in Dallas,TX and a trip to Dealey Plaza.